Tesi sul tema "Discrimination and reproduction"

Thesis advisor: Juliet B. Schor
In this dissertation, I argue that questioning the relationship between technological change, specifically the new types of markets and practices enabled by the “sharing economy” and inequality has become an urgent need. While the sector promotes itself as the harbinger of egalitarian access to economic opportunity and consumption, independent studies of its operations and impacts point towards significant discriminatory dynamics favoring the already privileged. As the sector keeps growing, understanding its impact on inequality becomes ever more critical. I focus on one sharing economy platform, Airbnb, which facilitates the practice of “home-sharing,” or more accurately short-term rentals. I investigate the relationship between Airbnb and inequality in three papers that focus on how the deeply unequal urban settings where much of the economic activity on Airbnb takes place operate within the context of economic activity enabled by the platform. The analysis for all three papers is based on the data for more than 450,000 Airbnb listings and the demographic and economic characteristics of the neighborhoods they are located in. In the first paper, I look at how race determines the patterns of participation and outcomes for people who rent out their properties. I show that the economic opportunities generated by the platform are unequally distributed across the urban landscape. There are fewer listings in areas with higher concentrations of non-White residents, the listings that are located in these areas charge lower prices, and have lower earnings. The second paper investigates the relationship between the public reputation system on Airbnb and racial discrimination. I show that characterizing the reputation system as a racially neutral tool, which has the potential to reduce discriminatory outcomes, is highly problematic. Airbnb listings located in neighborhoods with higher percentages of non-White residents have a harder time generating reputation information when they first come on the platform and tend to have systematically lower ratings. The third paper focuses on how short-term rentals generates new dynamics of gentrification in cities, by providing evidence for a new type of “rent gap” between long-term and short-term rentals, and how property owners are exploiting it. I argue that short-term rentals, in the absence of further effective regulation from governments, are likely to drive increasing levels of gentrification as they remain highly profitable and occupy an increasing number of housing units. I believe that studying these aspects of the sharing economy contributes to a fuller understanding of technological change and its understudied interaction with inequality. Moving beyond the mostly theoretical and aggregated understanding of change inherent in the SBTC literature, my research promotes a more concrete and empirical engagement with change in line with some of the research on the “digital divide,” and the emergent literature on inequality on online platforms. Ultimately, I think such an engagement can serve as the basis for a broader theoretical reckoning with the increased pace of technological change as more and more of our social life is “disrupted” by technological interventions, with significant consequences
Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2018
Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences
Discipline: Sociology

Les inégalités de scolarisation des enfants (6-12 ans) et des jeunes (12-15 ans) sont préoccupantes dans toute société et particulièrement en République Démocratique du Congo (RDC). Objet de débat et de discussion parmi les politiciens, les chercheurs et les organismes nationaux ou internationaux, (Rayou & Van Zanten, 2011 ; Reboul, 2016), le droit d'accéder à l'éducation est loin d'être appliqué à tous les enfants du monde. Il l'est encore moins au Sankuru, notre terrain de recherche. Une jonction des facteurs permet d'expliquer et de comprendre le paradoxe du maintien des inégalités d'accès et de condition de scolarisation des enfants dans un contexte d'expansion de l'enseignement primaire et secondaire au Sankuru : le manque d'écoles publiques, la non application du principe de gratuité, le manque de moyens financiers, matériels et humains. Le rapport entre la politique publique et éducative de la province du Sankuru est ici capital. Notre échantillon diversifié, composé d'écoles et de personnes (élèves, parents, personnel éducatif, décideurs politiques, paysans, commerçants et boutiquiers) nous a permis de mener des entretiens et observation du terrain. L'analyse des données recueillies du terrain nous a permis de constater des inégalités résultant de politiques discriminatoires mises en œuvre par les pouvoirs publics, dont certaines familles et enfants sont victimes. Une violence symbolique (culturelle) intrafamiliale s'observe aussi, expliquant la disparité d'accès à l'école entre les filles et les garçons
Inequalities in the schooling of children (6-12 years old) and young people (12-15 years old) are usually noticed in many societies worldwide has been particularly known in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) for many years. Access to education is a subject of debate and discussion among decision-makers, researchers and national or international bodies and is far from being applied to all children in the World. It is even less so in Sankuru, which is our area of research. A combination of factors makes it possible to explain and understand the paradox of maintaining inequalities in access and in the conditions of schooling of children in a context of expansion of primary and secondary education in Sankuru: the lack of public schools, the inequal implementation of the principle of free education, the lack of financial, material and human resources. The relationship between public and educational policies in the Sankuru province is crucial. Our diverse sample composed of schools and individuals (students, parents, educational staff, policy makers, farmers, trades people and shopkeepers) allowed us to conduct interviews and field observation. The analysis of the data collected from the field allowed us to observe inequalities resulting from discriminatory policies implemented by the public authorities, of which some families and children are victims. Symbolic (cultural) violence within the family is also shown, explaining the disparity in access to school between girls and boys

La stratégie de reproduction est l’un des principaux facteurs responsables du maintien de l’eusocialité et du succès écologique des fourmis. Chez les fourmis monogynes, la fondation solitaire induit de forts degrés d’apparentement entre les membres de la colonie, ce qui garantit la fitness indirecte des ouvrières. Par ailleurs, la territorialité assure le maintien de l’intégrité de la colonie. Par contre, chez les fourmis polygynes, l’ouverture sociale est plus importante, les reines ont perdu la capacité à fonder de manière indépendante et la présence de plusieurs lignées maternelle peut faire chuter les degrés d’apparentement, ce qui à terme, pourrait pousser les membres de la colonie au népotisme. Crematogaster pygmaea est une fourmi hautement polygyne dont la biologie la rapproche paradoxalement des fourmis monogynes. Dès lors, elle représente un modèle intéressant pour tester ces différentes prédictions, qui dans un cadre plus large, contribuent à une meilleure compréhension de l’évolution et de la maintenance de la coopération des reines chez les fourmis.

A l’aide de confrontations en milieu naturel, nous avons montré que C. pygmaea est clairement une espèce multicoloniale. Les confrontations traditionnelles en boîte de Pétri se sont avérées insuffisantes pour déterminer le degré d’ouverture des colonies de C. pygmaea. Le profil d’hydrocarbures cuticulaires des ouvrières est simple mais présente quelques alcanes branchés et quelques alcènes qui pourraient suffire au codage de l’odeur coloniale. Les colonies de C. pygmaea sont formées de plusieurs calies qui s’échangent des ouvrières. Ces échanges contribueraient à l’homogénéité et à l’intégrité génétique et chimique des colonies au sein des populations.

Contrairement à ce qui est observé chez d’autres fourmis, la forte polygynie de C. pygmaea n’est pas associée à l’incapacité d’une fondation solitaire. En effet, le dimorphisme reines-ouvrières est très marqué, l’haplométrose et la pléométrose sont possibles en laboratoire et des essaimages et tentatives de fondations solitaires ont été observés dans la nature. La dissémination des colonies par essaimage pourrait avoir lieu sur de courtes distances, comme le suggère la corrélation positive entre les distances génétique et géographique qui séparent les colonies.

Les reines sont capables de suivre des pistes, ce qui pourrait favoriser leur pénétration dans une colonie existante. Néanmoins, les ouvrières sont capables de reconnaître une reine étrangère et les degrés d’apparentements au sein des colonies sont élevés. Les analyses génétiques ont montré que les colonies forment des unités familiales dont les reines sont recrutées au sein d’une même génération. Ces reines sont à l’origine des ouvrières présentes dans la colonie. Chez les colonies pérennes, la présence d’un bottleneck royal pendant la saison sèche, associée à des accouplements intranidaux, devraient atténuer l’érosion des degrés d’apparentement liée au chevauchement entre les générations. Par ailleurs, nos résultats montrent aussi que les ouvrières peuvent produire des mâles fertiles. Le maintien de forts degrés d’apparentement et la présence de worker policing devraient garantir la fitness indirecte des ouvrières.

Enfin, nous montrons dans cette étude que les profils cuticulaires des individus pondeurs et non pondeurs diffèrent par la présence de quatre alcènes. L’accouplement ne modifie par le profil cuticulaire. Le profil des reines matures, très attractives vis-à-vis des ouvrières, est paradoxalement plus proche des individus non pondeurs. Néanmoins, le pentacosene présent uniquement chez les individus fertiles, pourrait être interprété comme un signal de fertilité par les ouvrières.

Dans cette étude, nous montrons que C. pygmaea bien que hautement polygyne possède plusieurs caractéristiques typiques des espèces monogynes. Sa stratégie de reproduction différenciée (la philopatrie des sexués et les essaimages) permet vraisemblablement à la fois la production massive d’ouvrières lors de la dilatation des colonies à la saison des pluies et la colonisation de territoires plus éloignés. La flexibilité de la gynie et de la polydomie de C. pygmaea contribueraient à une meilleure adaptation des colonies face aux saisons marquées du Nordeste brésilien/

Reproductive strategy is one of the main factors explaining eusociality and the ecological success of ants. In monogynous ants, independent foundation lead to high levels of relatedness between workers, ensuring their indiret fitness. Territoriality helps to maintain the social cohesion of the colony. In polygynous ants, nestmate recognition is generally less efficient, queens have lost the capability of solitary foundation and several maternal lineages lead to lower degrees of relatedness. Although highly polygynous, Crematogaster Pygmaea seems to share several biological traits with monogynous ants. These characteristics make this species a particularly interesting model to test several of the assumptions proposed to explain the origin and maintenance of polygyny in ants.

In the field, our results reveal that workers of this species are clearly aggressive towards non-nestmates. Populations of C. pygmaea are therefore multicolonial. Traditional Petri dish confrontations were insufficient to determine colonies’ degree of openness. Despite a simple cuticular hydrocarbon profile, alkenes and branched alkanes could be sufficient to support the colonial odor. Colonies of C. pygmaea consist of thousands of workers exchanged between different calies. Genetic and chemical data show that these exchanges contribute to the homogeneity and integrity of the colonies within populations.

Queen-worker dimorphism is pronounced in C. pygmaea and, in the laboratory, young mated queens are able to initiate a new colony by claustral foundation (in haplometrosis and pleometrosis). In the field, nuptial flights were noted at the beginning of the rain season and several young mated queens were observed digging the wet soil actively, confirming that solitary foundation is likely in this species. Swarming may occur over short distances, as suggested by the positive correlation between genetic and geographic distances among colonies.

Queens are able to follow chemical trails. Therefore, they could enter in established colonies. Nevertheless, since (i) workers are able to discriminate and kill foreign queens and (ii) relatedness is strong within colonies, adoption of foreign queens is probably rare. Genetic analysis rather suggest that colonies form family units in which the queens are recruited within a single generation and produce the workers of this generation.

Our results also show that workers are able to produce fertile males in the absence of queens. Despite this ability to reproduce, reproductive altruism in workers is probably maintain by high degree of relatedness between colony members and worker policing behaviours.

Our data show that cuticular lipid of non-fertile individuals (workers and winged virgin queens) differ from those of fertile ones by the presence of four alkenes. Mating does not alter the cuticular profile. Surprisingly, the cuticular lipid profile of mature queens is more similar to those of infertile individuals than to those of young egg-laying queens, although mature laying queens are twice as attractive as young laying queens. However, the relative proportion of one alkene (pentacosene) is clearly higher in mature queens than in their non-laying nestmates. It is therefore suggested that alkenes, and more particularly pentacosene, could be involved in fertility signalling but that queen attractiveness to workers could be released by other, non-cuticular compounds.

The biological traits of C. pygmaea have been interpreted in terms of adaptation to its environment characterized by sharply contrasting seasons. It is suggested that high number of related queens and polydomy ensure a rapid expansion of the colonies during the rainy season, allowing this species to exploit available resources with efficiency.

Doctorat en Sciences
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La thèse propose une analyse de la reproduction comme lieu de l'identité nationale brésilienne, et se base sur une recherche sur le terrain dans deux hôpitaux publics de Rio de Janeiro. Deux aspects spécifiques sont traités: la classification raciale des nouveaux nés et des femmes dans le milieu médical, et la gestion sociale de la reproduction par rapport à la stérilisation féminine. La classification raciale et la stérilisation féminine représentent deux champs dans lesquels les acteurs sociaux établissent le lien entre individu et communauté par rapport au discours sur le Brésil comme communauté mélangée. La thèse examine la relation entre racisme et démocratie raciale, la dynamique entre discrimination des descendants africains et valorisation du métissage. On fait également une sociologie historique des catégories de race, métissage, nation et reproduction utilisées pour définir l'idée de communauté dans le processus de formation de l'identité nationale
The thesis examines reproduction as a site of Brazilian national identity. In particular it investigates the racial classification of new-borns and mothers in the medical environment and the social management of reproduction in reference to female sterilisation. The thesis explores the relationship between racism and racial democracy, and the dynamic between the discrimination of African descendants and the valorisation of métissage at the core of Brazilian national identity. Racial classification and female sterilisation are the sites where the link between individual and community is established by social actors in a discourse that refers to Brazil as a mixed community. This thesis is based on fieldwork in two public hospitals in the suburbs of Rio de Janeiro. It also includes a sociological history of the categories of race, métissage, nation and reproduction, used to define the idea of community in the process of national identity formation in Brazil

The purpose of this thesis is to query the legitimacy of offering preimplantation genetic diagnostic (PGD) testing against Down's syndrome on the basis of United Kingdom (UK) law and policies. I will argue that extending PGD testing for Down’s syndrome as a permissible use of this technology does not (straightforwardly) adhere with the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) Code of Practice's stated factors which are to be considered when assessing the appropriateness of PGD applications. Indeed, due consideration of the evidence given in the relevant literature about the capacities and quality of life possible for persons living with Down's syndrome would seriously call into question the validity of a positive judgment recommending PGD as a treatment service for Down's syndrome according to the current UK regulatory instruments. I end the thesis by considering why the HFEA's relatively recent decision to limit client access according to an exclusive list of "serious" and therefore "in principle" test-worthy genetic conditions—understood as legitimate applications for PGD—stands to entrench prejudice, stigma, social bias, and unfair discrimination against the disadvantaged social group of persons living with Down's syndrome.

The present essay examines the linguisitc conceptualisation of otherness in the present party platforms of the Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands (SPD, Social Democratic Party of Germany) and the Christliche Demokratische Union Deutschlands (CDU, Christian Democratic Union of Germany). The language and the textual structure of their party platforms is analysed, its function described and compared with each other by using representative text excerpts. The theoretical background of this study is grounded in cultural studies. The methodological framework consists of a combination of critical discourse analysis and textual analysis. Criterias of the linguistic analysis are: coherence (including implicit meanings, propositions and presuppositions), modality, thematic roles, deixis and pronouns and keywords. 

 

The study shows that the Other is cleary conceptualized by using binary oppositions whereas those who are reperesented by we can not always be clearly identified. By using both objective and subjective modality authority and legitimacy are linguistically constructed by those who represent we. The analysis shows that stipulations and issues are mentioned which are supposed to be abided by the Others without being justified by those who represent we. Consequently the Other is excluded. Analysing both party platforms shows that the Other is  subcategorized, too. Myths about the Others are confirmed by representing a stereotypical image of the Other through language. However there are differences in the linguistic conceptualization of alterity. The representatives of CDU speak out more explicitly on specific issues concerning the Other than representatives of SPD do. Consequently SPD’s statements concerning the Other are more implicit.

 

The study shows that meaning is created by language and that myths of the Other are reproduced in political discourse.

 

Dans les annees trente sont adoptees en france toute une serie de lois liees a l'etablissement des garanties de reproduction des individus (assurances sociales, allocations familiales, lois de 1936, code de la famille). L'etat penetre dans la vie quotidienne du milieu ouvrier urbain pour garantir un certain mode de reproduction des individus. Ce systeme de controle implique un investissement dansun sujet social - les femmes - qui devient sujet politique en raison de son rapport historiquement determine avec la reproduction
Some laws brought into force in france in the thirties were designed to establish guarantees regarding reproduction (social insurances, family allowances, 1936 laws, code de la famille). The state penetrated the daily life of the urban working class to ensure that reproduction followed a certain pattern. This system of control called for investment in women, a social subject wich became a political subject because of its historically determined link with reproduction

La loi n° 2013-404 du 17 mai 2013 ouvrant le mariage aux couples de personnes de même sexe constitue un tournant pour le droit de la famille en France. Cette loi, qualifiée parfois véritable tsunami est l’aboutissement de la prise en considération des revendications des homosexuels à constituer une famille. Avant 2013 le droit français ne permet pas au couple homosexuel de constituer une famille homoparentale : il n’autorise pas le mariage entre personnes de même sexe. De plus, la PMA est réservée aux seuls couples hétérosexuels et la GPA est totalement interdite en France. Ce consensus en apparence figé sur la non-reconnaissance de la famille homosexuelle est conforté par le droit européen, en particulier la Cour européenne des droits de l’homme dont la jurisprudence marque encore peu de signes d’évolution. Pourtant, dès 2008, la Cour européenne des droits de l’homme se prononce avec l’arrêt E.B c/ France sur la question de l’adoption par un célibataire homosexuel, opérant un revirement en nette rupture avec sa jurisprudence antérieure Fretté c/ France. Cette évolution jurisprudentielle de la CEDH s’inscrit dans un mouvement plus vaste des droits nationaux vers la reconnaissance de la famille homosexuelle. Pour autant, après 2013, des questions restent en attente, en particulier pour la PMA et la GPA. La constitution de la famille homosexuelle n’est pas encore achevée
The 2013-404 law of 17 May 2013 which opened up the possibility for people of the same gender to get married shows a turning point for the family rights in France. This law, sometimes described as a real tsunami, is the outcome of taking into account the homosexuals' claim for starting a family. Before 2013 the French right did not allow a homosexual couple to be a homoparental family. It did not authorize people of the same gender to get married. Moreover Assisted Reproduction is only reserved to heterosexual couples and Gestation for Others is strictly forbidden in France. This seemingly constrained consensus on the non-legal recognition of the homosexual family is reinforced by the European right, particularly the European Court of Human Rights whose precedents still show few signs of evolution. Yet, from 2008 the European Court of Human Rights gave a verdict with the 'EB against France' decision on the question of child adoption by a homosexual person ; it implements a major change and marks a break with its prior 'Fretté against France' precedent. This jurisprudential evolution of the EC of HR is part of a larger movement of national rights towards the recognition of the homosexual family. For all that,some questions have been on hold since 2013, particularly for the Assisted Reproduction and the Gestation for Others. The composition of the homosexual family has not yet reached the end

Arguments have been forwarded that terminating a pregnancy affected by a congenital abnormality discriminates against those living with disabilities and makes negative judgements about their lives. For the clinical geneticist these arguments raise questions as to whether their practice is ethical. In this thesis I aim to consider these concerns primarily from the position of the clinical geneticist by addressing ethical arguments. I argue that the fetus does not have full moral status equivalent to a person and therefore terminating a disabled fetus is not comparable with ending the life of a disabled person, and so does not imply that the lives of disabled persons are not worth living. I further argue that the decision to carry out prenatal testing and abortion should not solely rely on disability and on the objective opinions of healthcare professionals. Central to this argument is that when considering whether or not prenatal testing and abortion are justifiable, it is important to take into account the specific and unique circumstances of the family, particularly the parents and pre-existing children. Parents’ reproductive autonomy therefore needs to be considered as well as the harm having a disabled child could cause; both to the future child to and those directly affected by their existence. I conclude that prenatal testing and abortion does not discriminate against those living with disabilities. Despite this, however, reproductive autonomy is not being respected in current approaches to prenatal testing as late termination of pregnancy can only be legally permitted where two healthcare professionals agree to it. Therefore, in order to enhance reproductive autonomy I have made recommendations whereby the supportive role of the clinical geneticist can be further developed by their acting as an advocate for prospective parents when justifications for late termination of pregnancy are being considered by healthcare professionals.

Diversité et pluralité linguistique et culturelle d’enfants allophones en processus migratoire : réussir avec, malgré ou sans les langues ? Cette thèse propose une réflexion sur la place accordée à la diversité linguistique et culturelle de jeunes allophones en mobilité migratoire et de leur famille, dans la société française dans son ensemble et, plus particulièrement, au sein des dispositifs d’accueil linguistique, social et scolaire mis en place par l’état et ses institutions. S’inscrivant dans une orientation épistémologique compréhensive et interprétative, ce travail soulève la question de la perception et de la gestion, ou non, de la diversité des jeunes migrants en interrogeant la mobilisation et/ou construction de représentations sociolinguistiques quant aux statuts et aux rôles attribués aux langues en présence dans des processus migratoires et d’intégration ainsi que dans des dynamiques de réussite scolaire et sociale
Diversity, linguistic and cultural pluralism of allophones children in migratory process: succeed with, despite or without languages? The purpose of this thesis is to study how the linguistic and cultural diversity of young allophone children and their families in migratory processes, is taken into consideration by the French society and, more particularly, the linguistic, social and academic systems established by the State and its institutions. Based on a comprehensive and interpretive approach, this study raises the question of how young migrants diversity is appreciated and handled, or not, questioning the use and/or the building of sociolinguistic representations concerning the roles and statuses of the languages in presence within migratory and integration processes such as social and academic achievement dynamics

Os objetivos deste trabalho são avaliar o papel da atenção na percepção de tempo em jovens, idosos e pacientes com a doença de Alzheimer (DA). Nosso trabalho experimental consiste em 4 experimentos. Os experimentos 1 e 2 avaliaram a percepção de tempo em jovens, empregando tarefas de reprodução e de discriminação de durações temporais, respectivamente. Os resultados mostram um efeito atencional nas durações curtas com menor d. Os experimentos 3 e 4 compararam a percepção de tempo entre jovens, idosos e pacientes com DA, empregando tarefas de reprodução e de discriminação de tempo, respectivamente. Os resultados mostram um pior desempenho de idosos e pacientes com DA em relação aos jovens, que parece corresponder a uma deficiência atencional. Concluímos que a modulação da atenção apresenta papel fundamental e crítico na percepção de tempo e os déficits na percepção de tempo em idosos e em pacientes com DA parecem estar associada a uma menor quantidade de recursos atencionais ou a uma dificuldade de focar a atenção.
Our work focused on the attentional modulation of the perception of time. Additionally, other objective was to study the effect of aging and Alzheimers disease (DA) on temporal perception. We have performed four experiments. The first and the second experiments evaluated time perception in young volunteers, by means of the reproduction and discrimination of time intervals, respectively. The results showed an effect of attention on short durations, confirmed by d. The third and fourth experiments had the objective to compare time perception among young volunteers, elderly and DA patients, utilizing reproduction and discrimination of time intervals, respectively. Our findings showed a worse performance in both elderly volunteers and patients with DA in comparison with the group of young volunteers. Our conclusion is that time perception deficits in elderly and patients with DA are associated either to lesser attentional resources or to an increased difficulty in focusing attention on the target, which is more evident in patients suffering of DA.

Les réformes de l'enseignement supérieur européen reconfigurent en profondeur les missions et l'organisation des universités. L'objet de notre thèse est de décrire les caractéristiques de la « nouvelle université capitaliste » telle qu’elle émerge progressivement par la mise en application du « modèle » de l’université de marché.

Dans une première partie, nous questionnons l'origine de ce modèle d'université de marché, en le confrontant aux différents "modèles historiques" qui ponctuent l'histoire des universités modernes. Nous étudions alors l'évolution des missions de recherche et d'enseignement des universités.

Afin d'interroger la description ainsi offerte de la nouvelle université capitaliste à l'aune de constat empiriques, nous interrogeons dans la seconde partie les différentes manières par lesquelles elle contribue à reproduire les inégalités sociales, à produire des héritiers et des « miraculés ». Cela nous permet de raffiner la description et de montrer quelques propriétés particulières de l'université en cours d'avènement.

Doctorat en Sciences politiques et sociales
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En 1979, l'Assemblée Générale des Nations Unies adopte la Convention sur l'Elimination de toutes les Formes de Discrimination à l'Egard des Femmes (CEDAW), qui engagent les Etats signataires à mettre en place et appliquer des mesures légales visant l'égalité homme-femme et l'élimination de la discrimination de genre. Les Etats d'Amérique Latine ont tous ratifié la CEDAW, convention qu'ils ont intégrée à leur droit interne. Des mesures ont été adoptées, des lois ont été votées, des institutions ont été créées dans la région. Mais des discriminations normatives persistent, et l'égalité de droit des femmes est en constant décalage avec leur égalité de fait. Des facteurs idéologiques et pragmatiques, tels que les stéréotypes culturels, la vulnérabilité féminine, conditionnent toujours la situation des femmes latino-américaines. En ratifiant la CEDAW, et plus tard les Programmes d'Action du Caire et de Beijing, la Bolivie reconnaît les droits humains des femmes dans les différentes sphères sociales et politiques, et notamment leurs droits reproductifs et sexuels. Le pays note alors d'importantes avancées politiques et symboliques en matière de genre, de reproduction et de sexualité féminines. Mais la répercussion et la réappropriation des droits humains en général, des droits reproductifs et sexuels en particulier, par les femmes boliviennes, pacéniennes et alténiennes notamment, rencontrent toute une série de barrières politique, sociale, culturelle et médicale. L'influence catholique et machiste, les patrons socioculturels, la pénalisation de l'avortement, l'ignorance des droits et le faible ‘empowerment' des femmes leur confèrent peu d'autonomie dans leurs décisions reproductives et sexuelles ; une autonomie qui serait cependant la clé de l'émancipation féminine en Bolivie.

En 1979, l’Assemblée Générale des Nations Unies adopte la Convention sur l’Elimination de toutes les Formes de Discrimination à l’Egard des Femmes (CEDAW), qui engagent les Etats signataires à mettre en place et appliquer des mesures légales visant l’égalité homme-femme et l’élimination de la discrimination de genre. Les Etats d’Amérique Latine ont tous ratifié la CEDAW, convention qu’ils ont intégrée à leur droit interne. Des mesures ont été adoptées, des lois ont été votées, des institutions ont été créées dans la région. Mais des discriminations normatives persistent, et l’égalité de droit des femmes est en constant décalage avec leur égalité de fait. Des facteurs idéologiques et pragmatiques, tels que les stéréotypes culturels, la vulnérabilité féminine, conditionnent toujours la situation des femmes latino-américaines. En ratifiant la CEDAW, et plus tard les Programmes d’Action du Caire et de Beijing, la Bolivie reconnaît les droits humains des femmes dans les différentes sphères sociales et politiques, et notamment leurs droits reproductifs et sexuels. Le pays note alors d’importantes avancées politiques et symboliques en matière de genre, de reproduction et de sexualité féminines. Mais la répercussion et la réappropriation des droits humains en général, des droits reproductifs et sexuels en particulier, par les femmes boliviennes, pacéniennes et alténiennes notamment, rencontrent toute une série de barrières politique, sociale, culturelle et médicale. L’influence catholique et machiste, les patrons socioculturels, la pénalisation de l’avortement, l’ignorance des droits et le faible ‘empowerment’ des femmes leur confèrent peu d’autonomie dans leurs décisions reproductives et sexuelles ; une autonomie qui serait cependant la clé de l’émancipation féminine en Bolivie
In 1979 the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), which commits signatory states to adopt and implement a series of legal measures on equality of men and women and all discrimination based on gender. All Latin American states have ratified the CEDAW and have integrated the Convention into their domestic law. Measures have been adopted, legislation voted and regional institutions have been set up. However, normative discrimination persists and the legal rights of women to equality of treatment are still out of step what is happening in reality. Ideological and pragmatic factors, such as cultural stereotypes and female vulnerability, still condition the situation of Latin-American women. In ratifying the CEDAW, and later the Cairo and Beijing Programs of Action, Bolivia recognises women’s human rights in the various social and political spheres, and more specifically in their reproductive and sexual rights. The country has made important political and symbolic progress in the field of gender equality, female reproduction and sexuality. Nevertheless, the effects on Bolivian women, especially from La Paz and El Alto, of their re-appropriation of human rights in general, and their sexual and reproductive rights in particular, encounter a whole series of political, social, cultural and medical obstacles. Factors such as the catholic and male chauvinistic influence, socio-cultural patterns, the penalisation of abortion, ignorance of legal rights and the weak empowerment of women all contribute to allowing them little autonomy in their reproductive and sexual decisions. This autonomy would be the key to female emancipation in Bolivia

Il presente lavoro intende investigare le discriminazioni multiple di cui sono vittime le donne con disabilità, in conseguenza dell’intersezione tra fattore “genere” e fattore “disabilità”. Più nello specifico, il contributo cerca di porre in luce i profili di maggiore rilievo costituzionale nella garanzia dei diritti fondamentali delle donne con disabilità che afferiscono al “corpo”, indagando le tematiche della violenza, della sessualità e dei diritti riproduttivi delle donne con disabilità. Tali ambiti appaiono infatti quelli in cui le discriminazioni vissute da queste donne risultano particolarmente pervasive, nonché quelli meno esplorati dalla dottrina giuridica, che possono pertanto offrire nuovi o diversi campi di indagine in merito alle discriminazioni multiple.
The purpose of this dissertation is to investigate multiple discrimination against women with disabilities, as a result of the intersection between “gender” factor and “disability” factor. Specifically, the contribution seeks to highlight the most important constitutional profiles in the guarantee of fundamental rights of women with disabilities affecting the “body”, investigating the issues of violence, sexuality and reproductive rights of women with disabilities. Such matters appear indeed to be those where the discrimination experienced by these women is particularly pervasive, as well as those less explored by the legal doctrine, which can therefore offer new or different areas of research in the field of multiple discrimination.

Human reproductive cloning came to the public´s attention when Dolly the sheep was cloned in Scotland in 1997. This news quickly spread around the world causing both excitements at the possibilities of what cloning techniques could offer, as well as apprehension about the ethical, social and legal implications should human reproductive cloning become possible. Many international organisations and governments were concerned about the impact of human reproductive cloning on human health, dignity and human rights. To this day, many institutions have drafted resolutions, protocols and position statements outlining their concerns. This paper outlines some of the major ethical issues surrounding human reproductive cloning and the position towards this novel technique taken by three important international organisations - Council of Europe, World Health Organization, and United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization - expressed in different regulatory frameworks. Proponents of human cloning occasionally point out that cloned humans are already among us in the form of twins - people with identical sets of DNA - so what is the problem? Besides avoiding the fact that natural twins are always siblings, whereas a clone could be the twin of a parent or grandparent, this observation ignores a crucial moral difference: natural twins arrive as rare creations, not as specifically designed products. Instead of being an uncontrolled, self-regulated evolutionary process, creation of man through reproductive cloning are shifting from being natural to a state of instrumentality where parental interests constitutes what is important. This shift will inevitably lead to the child being a means for some other end (parental interests). However, this is not the same as being subdued into genetic determinism, but the point brought forward is the child´s lack of freedom caused by the interests of the parents. In this sense the clone´s genome constitutes a heavy backpack because of our pre-knowledge of its physical building blocks - or in other words its potentiality. Even though the argument of genetic determinism is a weak one, our subconscious"forces"us to create hopes upon the child because of its potentiality. No longer is the evolution the creator with the dices of randomness. A new gambler is in town and this time the dices are equilateral.

Les insectes parasitoïdes effectuent leur développement aux dépens d'un autre organisme, un hôte. La qualité des hôtes va directement influencer le développement et la survie des parasitoïdes. Le nombre de descendants produits par les femelles dépend donc de leur capacité à localiser les hôtes et à déterminer leur qualité. Aussi, lorsqu'elles sont en situation de compétition et que les hôtes en question se trouvent être en quantité limitée, elles devront adapter leurs stratégies de ponte de manière à maximiser leur succès reproducteur. L'objectif de cette thèse est d'étudier les stratégies de ponte des femelles d'une espèce de parasitoïde solitaire, Anisopteromalus calandrae en situation de compétition intraspécifique. Chez les espèces solitaires, en partie à cause de combats larvaires mortels, un seul adulte pourra émerger d'un hôte donné, et ce, quel que soit le nombre d'oeufs initialement pondus. Nous nous sommes intéressés à ces combats en étudiant les facteurs biotiques pouvant affecter leur issue. Chez cette espèce, les larves femelles sont de meilleures compétitrices que ne le sont les mâles. Plus l'intervalle de temps entre deux pontes augmente, plus le deuxième individu pondu risque de se faire éliminer. Ainsi, chez cette espèce, les femelles sont capables de distinguer les différentes catégories d'hôtes auxquelles elles sont confrontées. Premièrement, le choix entre hôtes parasités et non parasités dépend de la stratégie de la femelle, à savoir si elle les utilise pour la ponte ou pour se nourrir. Cette stratégie est elle-même modulée par son état physiologique (âge, réserves nutritives...). Deuxièmement, lorsque les femelles sont confrontées à des hôtes déjà parasités, elles pondent préférentiellement sur ceux récemment parasités, hôtes sur lesquels leurs descendants ont la plus grande probabilité de survivre. L'origine de cette discrimination est dûe à l'évolution du profil cuticulaire de l'hôte au cours du temps après parasitisme. De plus, lorsque les oeufs présents sur les hôtes parasités ont atteint un certain stade de développement, les femelles sont capables de reconnaitre leur sexe. Elles vont ainsi avoir tendance à pondre plus de mâles lorsque des oeufs femelles sont déjà pondus. Toutefois, elles évitent de les pondre directement sur des hôtes déjà parasités par un oeuf femelle, les mâles ayant peu de chances de remporter le combat. L'aspect adaptatif de ces stratégies ainsi que les mécanismes sous-jacents sont discutés.

1994 in Cairo United Nations Population and Development Fund held a conference where the attending 179 nations agreed that Sexual and reproductive health is a human right. Everyone is entitled to this right without distinction.   This thesis investigates what covenants, declarations, policies, strategies and national law say about sexual and reproductive rights for men, specifically men in Sweden.   The thesis aims to enlighten the reader about men’s situation in a welfare state where discriminatory structures in society is reproducing gender stereotypes in a country that is one of the most gender equal countries in the world.   The general lack of common knowledge and subsequent lacking education in the matter is abundantly clear when browsing documents issued by official sources throughout the world. While Europe and its countries have begun to examine and call attention to this neglected subject, progress is still slow and could be hazardous to men’s sexual and reproductive health. The thesis concludes with an argument that Sweden have a discriminatory structure built in society that discriminate men and their right to sexual and reproductive health according to Discrimination Act 2008:567 by practices that appear to be neutral but can affect men in a negative way.

My doctoral thesis examines the broad question of whether appropriately designed institutions and policies can address the short- and long-term consequences of determinants of human capital which are "immutable'' by nature or are perceived as such. I consider three different types of immutable determinants of human capital: male versus female biology; colonization; and traditional norms of gender roles. In Chapter 1, I examine whether, and how, change in political regime type affects excess male infant mortality. Analyzing data on more than 3 million live births from sub-Saharan African countries, I exploit within-mother variation in political regime type to find that excess male infant mortality significantly decreases following a transition to democracy. I identify competitiveness of executive recruitment, constraints on the chief executive, and political participation as the features of democracy that matter most. Examining causal mechanisms, I find that democracy fosters the provision of health inputs, including maternal education, tetanus immunization, breastfeeding, and normal birth weight, all of which have stronger health benefits for boys than for girls, despite being found to be ex-ante "gender-neutral'' in my setting. In Chapter 2, I examine how colonial reproductive laws interact with market incentives to shape long-term fertility behavior in Africa. Exploiting the arbitrary division of ancestral ethnic homelands and the resulting discontinuity in institutions across the British-French colonial borders, I find that women in former British areas are more likely to delay sexual debut and marriage, and have fewer children. However, these effects disappear in areas close to sea, where market access and the opportunity cost of childbearing appear to be high irrespective of the colonizer identity. This heterogeneous impact of colonial origins extends to measures of local economic development and household welfare. Examining causal mechanisms, I argue that the fertility effect of colonial origins is directly linked to colonial population policies and reproductive laws and their impact on the use of modern methods of birth control. I find little evidence that the fertility effect of British colonization operates through education or income. While British colonization is linked to higher female education levels, this occurs mainly close to the sea while the fertility effects do not. Again, while income levels differ, the fertility gap between British and French colonies opened prior to 1980, while the income gap opened-up after 1990. This chapter highlights the heterogeneous nature of the colonial origins of comparative fertility behavior and economic development, and implies that economic incentives may overcome historical determinism. In Chapter 3, I examine the interplay between legal origins and pre-colonial cultural norms of gender roles in determining female economic empowerment in sub-Saharan Africa. Taking advantage of the arbitrary division of ancestral ethnic homelands across countries with different legal origins, I directly compare women among the same ethnic group living in civil law countries and common law countries. I find that women in common law countries are significantly more educated, are more likely to work in the professional sector, and are less likely to marry at young age. However, these effects are either absent or significantly lower in settings where ancestral cultural norms do not promote women's rights and empowerment. In particular, I find little effect in bride price societies, patrilocal societies, and societies where women were not involved in agriculture in the past.

Der Einfluß der mütterlichen Verwandtschaft auf das soziale Verhalten ist eingehend für viele Primatenarten untersucht worden, es ist jedoch schwierig die Bedeutung der Verwandtenselektion auf die Evolution von sozialem Verhalten zu bewerten, wenn Studien auf die mütterliche Verwandtschaft begrenzt sind und die väterliche Verwandtschaft dabei völlig ignorieren. Das Ziel der vorliegenden Dissertation war die Untersuchung des Ausmaßes der väterlichen Verwandtschaft und ihr Einfluß auf die sozialen Beziehungen zwischen adulten Weibchen in einer freilebenden Gruppe von Rhesusaffen (Macaca mulatta) auf der Insel Cayo Santiago. Die wichtigsten Resultate können folgendermaßen zusammengefaßt werden: Erstens, zur Beurteilung des Ausmaßes der väterlichen Verwandtschaft wurde die Vaterschaft der zwischen 1993 und 1998 geborenen Kindern der Studiengruppe bestimmt. Die Resultate zeigten, dass die Reproduktion der Männchen innerhalb der Untersuchungszeit nicht gleich verteilt war, einige wenige Männchen zeugten viele Nachkommen, aber die Mehrzahl der potentiellen Väter reproduzierten sich gar nicht oder nur wenig. Dies führte zu einer Verwandtschaftsstruktur in der fast alle im Untersuchungszeitraum geborenen Kinder mindestens ein väterliches Halbgeschwister mit geringer Altersdifferenz hatten, d.h. entweder im selben Alter (74%) oder maximal zwei Jahre jünger oder älter als es selbst (15%). Wenn auch bei anderen Primatenarten die Reproduktion auf einige wenige Männchen beschränkt ist, dann sollte die Bedeutung der väterlichen Verwandtschaft für Primaten neu bewertet werden. Eine der wichtigsten Konsequenzen der ungleichen Reproduktion der Männchen wäre nämlich, dass viele Individuen mehr väterliche, als mütterliche Halbgeschwister in ihrem Leben haben. Zweitens, um den Einfluß der väterlichen Verwandtschaft auf die sozialen Beziehungen unter adulten Weibchen zu bewerten, wurden affiliative und aggressive Interaktionen von 34 Fokusweibchen und ihren sozialen Partnern beobachtet, die entweder ihre mütterlichen Halbschwestern, ihre väterlichen Halbschwestern oder nichtverwandte Weibchen waren. Die vorliegende Untersuchung bestätigte, dass mütterliche Halbschwestern die engsten affiliativen Beziehungen haben. Das wahrscheinlich wichtigste Resultat dieser Studie ist der Befund, dass adulte Weibchen deutlich häufiger affiliativ mit ihren väterlichen Halbschwestern als mit Nichtverwandten interagierten. Die Erkennung der väterlichen Halbschwestern war deutlicher unter Weibchen gleichen Alters als unter Weibchen unterschiedlichen Alters, wobei die affiliativen Interaktionen mit zunehmender Altersdifferenz (gemessen in Jahren) abnahmen. Dies deutet darauf hin, dass Altersnähe einen zusätzlichen regulierenden Einfluß auf affiliatives Verhalten hatte. Beweise dafür, dass sich väterliche Verwandte erkennen können, sind nur in Bezug auf affiliative Interaktionen, nicht aber auf dyadische Aggression gefunden worden, was eine kontextabhängige Verwandtenerkennung annehmen läßt. Drittens, bei der Einbeziehung weiterer Verwandtschaftskategorien zeigten die Daten, dass mütterliche Verwandte auch bei konstant gehaltenem Verwandtschaftsgrad deutlich gegenüber väterlichen Verwandten bevorzugt wurden. Dies weist darauf hin, dass die mütterliche Verwandtschaft in der untersuchten Gruppe einen größeren Einfluß auf die sozialen Beziehungen adulter Rhesusaffenweibchen hatte als die väterliche Verwandtschaft. Affiliative sowie aggressive Interaktionen nahmen mit sinkendem Verwandtschaftsgrad ab, aber entfernte Verwandte unterschieden einander immer noch von Nichtverwandten, was der Existenz einer Verwandschaftsschwelle widerspricht. Viertens, schließlich wurde die väterliche Verwandtschaft in Bezug auf Koalitionsbildungen untersucht. Eine Koalition wird gebildet, wenn ein Individuum in ein laufenden Konflikt zwischen zwei Kontrahenten eingreift, um eine Partei gegen die andere zu unterstützen. Weibliche Rhesusaffen unterstützten am häufigsten ihre mütterliche Halbschwestern. Außerdem unterstützten sie Nichtverwandte gleichen Alters häufiger als Nichtverwandte unterschiedlichen Alters. Weibchen unterstützten ihre väterlichen Halbschwestern nicht häufiger als Nichtverwandte, aber die Daten könnten auf einen indirekten Beweis der väterlichen Verwandtenerkennung hinweisen, da Weibchen dazu tendierten gegen ihre väterlichen Halbschwestern seltener zu intervenieren als gegen Nichtverwandte. Dieser Befund könnte durch die Tatsache bedingt sein, dass väterliche Halbschwestern sehr unterschiedliche Dominanzränge einnehmen können, währenddessen mütterliche Halbschwestern immer benachbarte Dominanzränge haben, was zur Folge hat, dass ein rangtiefes Weibchen ihrer väterlichen Halbschwester nicht wirklich helfen kann, da sie ein viel höheres Vergeltungsrisiko auf sich nimmt, wenn sie in einen Konflikt zwischen zwei ranghöhere Kontrahenten interveniert. Als einen Kompromiß könnten Weibchen statt dessen vermeiden gegen ihre väterlichen Halbschwestern zu intervenieren, was darauf hindeuten könnte, dass individuelle Zwänge bezüglich der eigenen Konkurrenzfähigkeit eine bedeutende Rolle bei der Koalitionsbildung spielen. Mütterliche und väterliche Halbschwestern zeigten zudem einen stärkeren Trend zu "reciprocity" und "interchange" als Nichtverwandte und gaben einander einen höheren Anteil an kostenintensiven Unterstützungen. Schließlich unterstreichen die Ergebnisse dieser Studie deutlich, dass Vertrautheit zwischen Individuen durch frühkindliche Bindungen mindestens auf zwei Wegen erfolgen kann: (i) Mütter vermitteln Vertrautheit zwischen ihren Kindern (die mütterliche Halbgeschwister sind) aufgrund der durch die Laktation bedingten engen Mutter-Kind Bindung und (ii) Altersnähe vermittelt mehr Vertrautheit zwischen Altersgenossen (die entweder väterliche Halbgeschwister oder Nichtverwandte sind), die wichtige Lebensabschnitte wie z.B. Kindheit, Menstruationsbeginn, Schwangerschaft oder Mutterschaft zu ähnlichen Zeiten durchlaufen, während Weibchen unterschiedlichen Alters dies nicht tun. In jedem Fall brauchen väterliche Halbgeschwister neben der Vertrautheit zu ihren Altersgenossen noch einen zusätzlichen Mechanismus wie z.B. das "phenotype matching" um innerhalb ihrer Altersgenossen wirklich zwischen väterlichen Halbgeschwistern und Nichtverwandten zu unterscheiden.
The impact of maternal kinship on social behaviour has been studied in detail for many primate species, but it is difficult to assess the importance of kin selection in shaping the evolution of social behaviour when studies are limited to maternal kin, completely ignoring paternal kinship. This thesis aimed to investigate the extent of paternal kinship and its impact on the social relationships among adult females in one group of free-ranging rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) living on the island of Cayo Santiago. The main findings can be summarised as follows: Firstly, in order to access the extent of paternal kinship, paternity has been analysed for all infants of the study group born between 1993 and 1998. Results revealed that male reproduction was highly skewed over the study period as few males have sired a high number of offspring, but the majority of potential sires have sired no or few offspring. This created a kinship structure in which nearly all animals born during the study period had at least one paternal half-sibling in close age proximity, i.e., either of the same age (74%) or within a two-year age difference of themselves (15%). Assuming that male reproductive success is also skewed in other primate species, then the importance of paternal kinship in primate societies should be re-emphasised. One of the most important consequences of male reproductive skew is that many individuals will have more paternal than maternal half-siblings during their life time. Secondly, in order to access the impact of paternal kinship on the social relationships among adult females, focal data on affiliation and aggression have been collected on 34 adult females with respect to their social partners who were either their maternal half-sisters, paternal half-sisters or unrelated females. The present study confirmed that the closest affiliative relationships characterise maternal half-sisters. Probably the most important result of this study was the finding that adult females were significantly more affiliative with their paternal half-sisters than with their non-kin. The recognition of paternal sisters was more pronounced among females of the same age than among females of different age, with a decrease in affiliation as the exact age difference (measured in years) increased among paternal half-sisters. This indicates that age proximity had an additional regulatory effect upon affiliative behaviour. However, evidence for paternal kin discrimination was only found with respect to affiliation, but not with respect to dyadic aggression suggesting context-dependent kin discrimination. Thirdly, when more kin categories were included in the analysis, adult females showed a strong bias towards maternal kin in comparison to paternal kin. This bias towards maternal kin when the degree of relatedness was held constantly suggests, that maternal kinship had a larger impact on the social relationships among adult female rhesus macaques than paternal kinship at least in the study group. Both affiliation and aggression declined with decreasing degrees of relatedness, but distant kin still differentiated each other from non-kin contradicting the existence of a relatedness threshold. Fourthly, paternal kinship was finally investigated with respect to coalition formation. A coalition is formed when an individual intervenes in an ongoing conflict between two opponents in order to support one party against the other. Female rhesus macaques intervened most often on behalf of their maternal half-sisters. In addition, unrelated female peers supported each other more often than unrelated female non-peers. Females did not support their paternal half-sisters more often than non-kin, but data may indicate indirect evidence for paternal kin discrimination as females tended to target their paternal half-sisters less often than non-kin. This finding might be due to the fact, that paternal half-sisters can be very different in rank, while maternal half-sisters are of adjacent rank, implying that a low-ranking female cannot provide actual help to her paternal half-sisters, as she may risk a higher probability of retaliation when intervening in a conflict between two higher-ranking opponents. As a compromise, females may instead avoid to target their paternal half-sisters, suggesting that constraints to an individuals own competitive ability play an important role in coalition formation. Maternal and paternal half-sisters showed a stronger trend in reciprocity and interchange than non-kin and also provided a higher proportion of costly interventions towards each other. Finally, the results of the present study strongly suggest that familiarity among individuals can arise through association in early development by at least two alternatives: (i) mothers mediating familiarity among their offspring (which are maternal half-siblings) caused by the close mother-offspring relationship during lactation and (ii) age proximity is mediating familiarity among age mates (including both paternal related and unrelated peers) as peers go through important life history stages such as infancy, menarche, pregnancy or motherhood at similar times while females of different age do not. In any case, paternal half-siblings additionally need a mechanism such as phenotype matching to discriminate paternal half-siblings from non-kin even within their peer group.

Die lateinamerikanischen Sexualwissenschaften und deren Theorien, Handlungsfelder, politischen Bezüge und Forschungsergebnisse sind in Deutschland wenig bekannt und werden in sexualwissenschaftlichen Kontexten kaum rezipiert. Sie liefern jedoch profunde Erkenntnisse zur Frage, wie sich die Politisierung des Sexuellen und die Sexualisierung des Politischen theoretisch erfassen lassen. Dieser Band bietet aus intersektionaler und postkolonialer Perspektive einen ersten Zugang zu den breit gefächerten Theoriedebatten und geht, diskurtheoretisch orientiert, der Frage nach, wie sich die kolonialen Logiken der Differenz in Debatten um Multi- und Plurikulturalität eingelagert haben, wie Differenz hergestellt, reproduziert und regiert wird und wie dies das Verständnis von Sexualitäten und die Zugänge zu sexuellen und reproduktiven Rechten reguliert.

"But you've got to make sure you communicate in the right way [laughs] so that no one else knows what you're talking about. [Laughing]" (Interview I) The study examines the rhetoric of 'racial' exclusion used by South African private recruitment consultants to justify racist practice, criticise employment equity and deny racism. The dilemmatic nature of clients racially based requests is understood in a context that socially and legally forbids "unfair discrimination" and racist practice. The reader is provided with an overview of the legislation as it pertains to recruitment and the psychological study of 'race' in order to locate this study within its historical context. An historical context of segregation and resistance to changes in employment practices. We examine how South African psychology has investigated 'race' and racism - past and present. Psychology has traditionally explained 'white' resistance to transformation in terms of 'racial' prejudice. These attitudinal approaches fail to explicate the role of language in the reproduction and conservation of these historical patterns. By providing the reader with an historical overview "interpretative connections" (Wetherell and Potter, 1992) will be established that assist in the analysis of the text. Transcribed interviews with nine private recruitment consultants in two urban centres in South Africa serve as textual evidence. The analysis demonstrates the rhetorical strategies employed by consultants in their conversations, discussions, negotiations, criticism and justification of the conservation of historical employment patterns. Private recruitment consultants engage in a number of rhetorical manoeuvres that appeal to 'white' norms and construct' black' as a requirement and deficient. The construction of' white' and' black' serves as a platform for justifying the historically established 'racial' hierarchy and conserving 'racial' privilege. Consultants construct their practice as a 'reasonable' response to clients' blatant 'racially' based requests for candidates. This is done by splitting racism into 'reasonable' and 'unreasonable' racism. 'Unreasonable' racism is defined as explicit I blatant acts that are located externally and in the past. This splitting functions to distance recruitment consultants from the racist practices of their clients and to counter potential accusations of racism. Their arguments function ideologically to defend the historical status quo in employment and criticise social transformation in South Africa. The study concludes with recommendations for the private recruitment industry in South Africa and suggests future areas of study using a discursive approach. The analysis highlights the need for external auditing of the private recruitment agencies to ensure the enactment and successful implementation of the Employment Equity Act of 1998 and the Promotion of Equality and Prevention of Unfair Discrimination Act of 2000. Furthermore, more detailed analysis of the object of racism, namely the construction of 'whiteness', could be useful in understanding resistance to transformation in the private sector and the (re)production of racism.
Thesis (M.A.)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2002.

Defence date: 22 September 2015
Examining Board: Professor Fabrizio Bernardi, European University Institute (supervisor); Professor Alessandra Venturini, European University Institute; Professor Anthony Heath, University of Oxford; Professor Héctor Cebolla-Boado, UNED.
This thesis is about the production and reproduction of social and spatial inequalities among ethnic minorities in England and Wales. More specifically, I study how the interaction of different forms of inequality shapes the opportunities of individuals in a series of outcomes. The main source of inequality explored here is that which derives from ethnicity and migration status. Alongside this, two dimensions of inequality are also explored: social origins and the characteristics of the neighbourhood of residence. The analysis, carried out for second generation ethnic minorities (Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Chinese, Caribbean and African) and the white British, is based on rich individual, household and neighbourhood-level data: the ONS Longitudinal Study, a dataset that links census information for a 1% sample of the population of England and Wales and to which it is possible to attach household and neighbourhood information, and aggregated census data (1971-2011). I show that ethnic penalties in the labour market are, partly or totally, penalties related to the socio-economic origins of ethnic minorities, usually less advantaged as compared to that of the white British. This suggests that scholars in migration might overestimate the ethnic gap if social origins are not considered. A second crucial finding is that the geographical space is a source of production and reproduction of ethnic inequalities. Three outcomes support this. First, I found evidence of ethnic enclave and place stratification spatial models: most ethnic minorities, but particularly individuals with lower educational and occupational attainments and Pakistani and Bangladeshi populations, are less likely than the white British to improve the neighbourhood in which they were raised, both in terms of deprivation levels and in terms of the share of non-whites. Second, I found evidence of neighbourhood effects: having been raised in areas with a high share of co-ethnics has a negative effect on the labour market outcomes of some groups, mainly Pakistani and Bangladeshi. Third, I found evidence of increasing spatial segregation: between 2001 and 2011, non-whites, and in particular Pakistani populations, increased their spatial clustering and their likelihood of sharing the space with other co-ethnics.

The subject of this thesis is the question of immigration in contemporary (Western) European societies which is treated by detailed exposition of the concrete historical case of immigration from the Maghreb countries (Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia) to France during the 20th century. The first part of the work consists of the brief history of immigration to France and of the wider theoretical context for the sociological inquiry of the phenomena linked with immigration, especially the paradoxical situation which results from the fact of immigration in the nation states and the logic of the formation of the interethnic relations. As a theoretical support for following analysis, several theories are presented: Goffman's theory of stigmatization, Becker's labelling theory, theory of the social representations of Moscovici and Merton's concept of self-fullfilling prophecy. In the second part, the particular case of immigration from Maghreb countries to France is examined with the special attention to the social representations made in French society in the context of this historical process. The main subject of this work is the situation of the descendants of immigrants from Maghreb countries in the French society, especially their position in its social structure - the third part therefore consists of the analysis...

Diploma thesis has special education theme. This thesis deals with the auditory perception in preschool children. The goal of the work is to evaluate the level of auditory perception of children in an ordinary preschool class. We focus on listening, auditory differentiation, short-term auditory memory, auditory analysis and synthesis, and perception and reproduction of rhythm. In order to answer the research questions, we created a test which is designed in accordance to the auditory perception development tables. The results show that on average the children score 82.8 percent in the test. The most difficult part of the test is listening with the average score of 61.0 percent. On the other hand, the most successful part is the perception and reproduction of rhythm with average score of 89.2 percent. KEYWORDS Preschool Child, Communication, Auditory Perception, Listening, Word Discrimination, Short-term Auditory Memory, Phonological Segmentation and Blending, Perception and Reproduction of Rhythm

My thesis should provide a comprehensive sum up of the life of homoparental families in the Czech Republic. I would like to closely see and monitor functioning of those LGBTI families and to research obstacles that these families must overcome to fully function in the society. In terms of equal and discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity I will examine in more details the processes, tools and institutions that provide the same conditions to all families without exception. I am primarily interested in barriers to the full functioning of these families, their access to assisted reproduction, surrogacy for gay families, and the legalization of non-biologic parent relationships to a child in a common household, their rights and duties. From a public policy point of view, I will find out whether these processes are in the accordance to equal and not discrimination treatment for all. By legalization of the partnership between homosexuals in the Czech Republic it has caused the logical development of this status and issues connecting to this law. Today, is often discussed the nature of this relationship and the possibility of its "transformation" into a full family structure ended up by marriage. This development raises a number of theoretical and practical issues. In my work,...

EUROPEAN MASTER’S DEGREE IN HUMAN RIGHTS AND DEMOCRATISATION Academic Year 2007/2008
The aim of this study is to clarify the pre-conditionality of reproductive autonomy and women’s citizenship in Europe in the light of the case-law of the European Court of Human Rights2. Women’s reproductive autonomy has often been denied in the name of the moral and ethical concerns and nationalistic discourses. However, in Europe there is a strong consensus on gender equality which covers also reproductive autonomy. The Court has tried to balance in its verdicts the competing rights of individuals and the state. It has tried to set boundaries on the question of to what extent pluralistic modern democracies must tolerate intolerance. Despite its shortcomings the Court has played an important role in securing a minimum standard of the protection though realities of the women’s reproductive autonomy are still defined by the state. My approach to reproduction has been non-biological and therefore I have not made a definite distinction between biological and social parenthood. In this study, I have treated the concept of citizenship in the light of critical feminist research seeing it as a wider concept than referring only to public rights and duties but rather as forming the autonomous space in society which allows a person to lead her life as she wishes.

Although Swazi women's contribution to national development has been phenomenal, they like any other women in patriarchal societies confront an overbearing situation in which they have been regarded and treated as minors, both in the family and most spheres of public life. This has largely been due to the social construction of gender. Traditional gender-based attitudes, deeply ingrained in the people's mind set, not infrequently, have limited women's access to and control of various aspects of public life, and impinge on their rights, most especially the rights to selfdetermination and equal participation in the decision making process. Coupled with religion which influences "the deepest level of what it means to be human" (King, 1994:4) and zealous cultural conservatism, the Swazi women, with a few notable exceptions, experience an asymmetry of power due to the pervasive nature of gender. Nonetheless, the history of Swaziland bears testimony, however muted, to a legacy ofwomen's struggles to overcome gendered conditions imposed upon them either by taking full advantage of their spiritual endowment and charisma to overcome attitudinal barriers or by organising themselves into groups to work for the social transformation of their conditions and status. This study examines the Swazi women's search for gender equality. It discusses the social and cultural context of gender in Swaziland, the various moments in the Swazi women's quest for equality and its manifestations, and the push and pull effect of religion and culture. Particular attention is given to four organisations, namely Lutsango lwakaNgwane (loosely referred to as women's regiments), the Council of Swaziland Churches, the Women's Resource Centre (Umtapo waBomake) and Swaziland Action Group Against Abuse (SWAGAA). The study shows that Swazi women have, across a passage of time, adopted different strategies, including ritual, economic empowerment and creation of new knowledge through promotion of gender awareness and social advocacy either in a womanist approach that accepts women's embeddedness in Swazi culture or in the liberal feminist tradition that espouses women's individual rights. However, the study shows that the women's movement has yet to reach the critical mass level so as to influence public policy and come to terms with the deconstruction of the dominant gender ideology.
Religious Studies and Arabic
D. Litt. et Phil. (Religious Studies)

Within the Surinamese jurisdiction the Constitution grants women the right to health and imposes a legal duty on the state to facilitate the realization of this right. Also treaty law, in particular, the ICESCR article 12 and the CEDAW article 12 grant women the right to the highest attainable standard of health and the right to non-discriminatory access to healthcare. But due to the criminal law applicable to abortion women lack non-discriminatory access to reproductive healthcare and therefore do not enjoy the highest attainable standard of pregnancy related health. Despite its decision not to enforce the abortion prohibiting criminal laws, Suriname remains in a state of failure to comply with its legal duties as imposed by the Constitution and treaty law. This, due to the state’s reluctance to repeal the criminal laws on abortion and its failure to enact effective health regulations to facilitate women in need of an abortion.